The Summer of Our Discontent
by Midnight Parallax
Summary: Post Season 5 - A collection of one-shots about how the kids spent their summer vacation at Laguna Negra.
1. One Phone Call

**One Phone Call**

 **Episode:** _Post 5x09_

 **Summary:** When the kids are forced to spend summer vacation at school, Noiret allows them each one phone call to explain it to their parents.

 _June 2008_

They had lined up neatly in front of Jacques Noiret's office as he had instructed them. Ivan, Marcos, Carolina, Vicky, Roque and Julia tried to retain their composure while waiting for their next dose of medicine. The first dose had already been dispensed when they agreed to stay at the school without causing a fuss. The second dose would require them to call their parents to explain that they were going to spend the summer at Laguna Negra. The story was that they were taking extra credits for college preparation, not that they were being blackmailed through bio warfare to keep silent.

When Noiret stepped out of his office, he paced in front of the line to size them up. He knew they were stifling their urge to rebel quite nicely.

"Well, who is going first?" asked Noiret.

"Me!" said Ivan, stepping forward as Julia tried to hold him back. "I need to call the asylum and let them know that they have the wrong parent of mine locked up for being insane."

Noiret strolled over to his son and stared at him coldly. "You need to remember who's in charge here. We could have done this the easy way. Now you'll have to earn your dose with kindness to me."

"Ivan, don't be an idiot," Julia said. "He'll just hurt the rest of us."

"Smart girl," Noiret said. "Probably too smart for my son. You'll go first."

Julia looked at Ivan and the others. They nodded for her to follow him, so she let go of Ivan's arm and stepped forward boldly.

"Fine. Let's get on with it," said Julia.

Noiret casually strolled over to the entrance of his office and waited for her. "After you."

She boldly walked inside, and from the corner of her eye, she saw that Ivan was standing close by the office. Noiret shut the door behind them when he entered, and he proceeded to sit down at his desk. He pushed the phone on the table towards her.

"I'm sure that your mother will be disappointed not to have you home this summer," he commented sarcastically. "Maybe she can finally date someone without worrying about you stealing him away."

"You're a real son of a bitch," Julia said as she picked up the receiver and started dialing her home phone number.

"Tsk-tsk. You've spent too much time with my son," replied Noiret. "Your stepfather wasn't a fan of swearing when I knew him."

Julia opened her mouth to give a him more unkind words, but her mother's voice stopped her.

"Hello," her mother said through the phone.

"Hi, Mama," said Julia.

"Julia? Is everything all right? Aren't you supposed to be on the bus home?" she asked.

"No, I'm still at school. Didn't the office call you? I have to stay at school to make up some credits due to my late school transfer," Julia lied. She used the version of events that Noiret had suggested to her earlier that day.

"You're willing to stay at school for the summer?" said her mother in a disbelieving tone. "No fussing or fighting about not going to the beach or seeing your friends here?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe it. Let me guess, that boy you're running around with is going to be spending the summer there with you?" demanded her mother.

Julia paused.

"Of course. Why spend the summer with me when you can spend it rolling around with him? But I suppose I should be happy that it's a boy your own age this time."

The comment made Julia feel uneasy. She and her mother still weren't in a good place, and lying to her about why she was spending the summer away was not going to help. "It's not about Ivan. I won't graduate on time if I don't make up the credits."

"And the school just happened to realize this when you got a new boyfriend? I want to hear from someone at the school that this isn't some trick to run off and spend the summer with him."

Julia cringed. Her mother didn't believe her excuse. Why would she? "Listen, I wanted to come home. Really."

Her mother sighed. "Give the phone to your headmaster. Otherwise, I'm going to drive there myself to get you right now."

"Fine," replied Julia.

She handed the phone to Noiret. "She wants you to reassure her that I'm not going to run away with Ivan for the summer."

Noiret nodded. He could have laughed at the irony. They had foiled his plans, and now he had foiled theirs.

"Hello, this is the headmaster," said Noiret. "I apologize for the oversight. I thought the secretary had alerted you, but apparently not. Rest assured that Julia will be in good care this summer at our school…"

As Julia watched him lying so easily, she felt sick. She hadn't been concerned with her mother's forgiveness when she was planning to escape with Ivan. She had believed that with enough time, her mother would have understood her. Forgiven her. But things had changed, and time was in short supply. There was a strong possibility that she would die without making things right between them.

When Noiret hung up, her mother was sufficiently convinced that staying the summer was for the best. The world felt numb. She wanted to scream through the phone for her mother to rescue her from this madman, but she couldn't. She just sat there because her life was in his hands.

"Next," he told her coldly.

Julia rose from her seat and stormed out of the office.

A moment later, Vicky entered. The entire event was hazy for her. Her parents were disappointed that she was spending summer break at school, and they expected that she would at least spend two weeks at home before school began again in the fall. Noiret had assured them that it wouldn't be an issue, nor would they have to pay the bill for her summer session. The answers appeared to satisfy them, and the call was ended.

"Will you let me go home for two weeks?" Vicky asked.

"If you do as you're told, and don't make a fuss, I'll see what I can do," said Noiret.

She almost burst into tears. Vicky had done everything to avoid becoming one of his victims. Everything had become so much more dangerous since Nacho died. She couldn't hide from the horrors of the school.

"Well? Are you going to leave or sit here and stare at me?" asked Noiret. "Next."

"There's a special place in hell for you," said Vicky.

"I'm touched that the devil admires my work," he replied, gesturing for her to leave. "Now send in the next brat."

When Vicky opened the door to leave, Marcos pushed himself into the room. He stood in front of Noiret's desk and slammed his hand down.

"I want to talk to a lawyer."

"Well, well, well," said Noiret. "What for?"

"Paula. She needs a guardian. Arrange it. I know you're not letting us out alive, but you leave her out of this," Marcos told him.

Noiret leaned forward and stared at him. "Don't worry. Mario is aware of the situation. He's already taken care of it."

"Don't worry?" Marcos laughed. "I don't trust Mario. You owe me a damn phone call!"

"No, I don't," replied Noiret. "I need students with living parents to make calls to stay for the summer. Hector's dead and no one gives a damn about you. You're lucky that I let you live."

"You sick bastard. No wonder Ivan's all twisted up. And why your wife isn't here at all," Marcos said.

Noiret bristled at Marcos' comment about his wife. The boy didn't know anything. No one did. "Get out now, or Mario will have to tell your sister that you disappeared over the summer."

"This isn't the end," Marcos said as he backed away from Noiret.

"Of course not," Noiret answered his challenge.

Marcos shook his head and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Carol was the next to enter. She kept her disposition very stiff as she walked in. She wasn't going to let him get to her.

"What is with my son and smart girls?" Noiret inquired. "You're all aware that he's not that bright?"

"He has a good heart, which he certainly didn't inherit from you," Carol replied coldly as she sat down and took the phone to call her mother.

Her plans for the summer had changed so much in the last year. Usually, she would spend the days with her mother at the beach or on the set of her latest film. This year Carol had planned to make more of their time together since her mother's health was failing. Instead, she would be locked at this wretched school.

The phone rang until the voicemail answered. Carol's heart sank.

"Hi Mom, it's Carol. I'm calling because I'll be at summer school this year, and I didn't want you to be upset that we didn't get to go to Milan this year," Carol said with an empty tone. "Call me when you get this."

She hung up the phone and bit down to prevent herself from crying.

"What a shame," Noiret said. "I'm sure she'll get back to you once she's done trying to book her come back role."

Carol glared at him. Of course, he was going to bait her into being upset. "I'm sure she will. And then you'll have to explain to her why I can't go to her. What will you do then?"

"Let's wait and see if – I'm sorry, I mean, when she comes to get you," Noiret answered. "Do we have a deal?"

Carol didn't reply. She just walked out of the room.

It was Roque's turn to take his place in front of Noiret. The boy simply stood in front of his former best friend's father, his former headmaster, and his current blackmailer, trying to figure out the man's next role in his life.

"You didn't think this chance was free, did you?" asked Noiret.

Roque didn't respond. He picked up the phone and dialed his mother. She had sounded distant on the phone, and didn't seem the least bit concerned that he had failed two classes that year and had to stay in school for the summer. When Roque asked about his father, she mumbled something about him being away on business and that he would call Roque when he had the time. He didn't press his mother for more information, since he already knew about his father's affair. He hung up the phone, more focused on his uncertain future than that of his parents.

"Good work. Lying has become a second nature to you," Noiret said to him. "Not surprising since you'll need that skill to survive. You'll be my eyes and ears to them. I don't trust Ivan and Marcos not to have a scheme per week. And you know the girls will just follow them along… That must hurt? The girls don't see you as a leader of the pack. Not tall, not handsome, no commanding presence… This will probably be the most worthwhile thing you do with your life."

Roque gave him a disgusted look. "I always thought that you were just an asshole. Now I see that you're a madman too."

"And I always saw you as my son's puppet. But today, you're mine," replied Noiret.

Roque shook his head. "How could you do this to them? Ivan is your son."

"The fact that I can shows you just what I'm capable of if you think of crossing me," Noiret informed him. "The virus would be the least of your concerns."

The boy recognized that he would have to back down. He couldn't mouth off Noiret with the knowledge of how far he was willing to go to stay in control of the situation. "If I don't swear at you while coming out of here, the others will know that something is wrong."

Noiret grinned. "Clever boy. Don't make being too clever into a habit. You'll live to regret it."

Roque walked to the door and opened it. "Don't worry. Villains always get what they deserve."

Noiret clenched his fist as the boy left. He would keep the kid in line by any means necessary. Then he opened the desk drawer and took out the medicine box. He was in control again.

"Well, that went the way it was supposed to," Noiret said as he stepped out of his office. "Now good little boys and girls will get their medicine. As long as they remember who's in charge."

The teens exchanged defeated looks as they stood before him. He had won this round, but they were certain that there would be more to come. It was going to be a long summer.


	2. Death and Ice Cream

**Death and Ice Cream**

 **Episode:** _Post 5x09_

 **Summary:** Ivan and Carolina's friendship is put to the test when her mother passes away during the summer.

 _August 2008_

Carol hadn't gotten out of bed in over two days. Since the news of her mother's passing, she became a shell of her former self. Noiret had given her permission to go to the funeral for the sake of appearances, but there was no point. Her mother was gone. There was nothing left to fight for anymore.

Vicky and Julia hadn't left her side. Vicky couldn't imagine the pain that Carol must have been going through. While Vicky had recently lost Nacho, it was nothing compared to the thought losing her mother. Julia had been in Carol's shoes when her father passed away. She blamed herself for his death, when it was actually Noiret and his band of villains. Now history had repeated itself. Still, both girls knew that nothing they said or did would take away the grief of Carol's loss.

The boys were of little help. Though Roque visited a few times, he had received little reaction from her. When Marcos tried to see her, she went from sorrow to rage. He had locked her in her room when she tried to escape a week ago. If only he had helped her, she would have seen her mother one last time. Instead, he had stolen the only chance she had. She would never forgive him. Never. The girls decided that it would be better for Marcos to keep his distance for a few days. Then there was Ivan. He hadn't seen Carolina since the day that she received the news about her mother.

"Why are you avoiding Carol?" Marcos demanded when the boys were in their room.

Things between the boys had been strained since the summer began. It had been too much for them to handle. They were infected with the virus and forced to serve their death sentence in this awful school. Maria was locked away and Hector had died, leaving them without an ally. When rumors of a traitor emerged, their friendship frayed.

"You have Julia now, so to hell with Carol?" asked Marcos. "I thought you were still her friend at the very least. How can you feel nothing for her?"

The situation with Carol only added fuel to their conflicts. At the beginning of the summer, Marcos and Carol officially began seeing each other. Even though Ivan was with Julia, watching Marcos and Carol together had reopened an old wound that he didn't realize was still raw. He and Marcos argued over it for the first week, but by the second week it turned into a silent understanding between them, as it had been when Ivan dated Carol.

When Carol wanted to escape to see her mother, Ivan had sided with her. It put the boys at odds again, because Marcos thought leaving was too dangerous. Ivan's stance had caused a fight with Julia, who thought he wasn't completely over Carol. At that point, Ivan decided to stay out of Carol and Marcos's issues. Everything with her was over. Carol wasn't his girlfriend anymore.

Ivan glared at Marcos. "And why aren't you comforting her instead of standing here asking me to do it? She's your girlfriend now."

"I always knew that you were a selfish son of a bitch, but this is low even for you," Marcos said.

"Thanks. It's nice to know that I exceed expectations," replied Ivan. He was about to leave the room when Marcos blocked him.

"You're letting your guilt take priority over helping Carol. What happened to her mother is not your fault," Marcos told him. "But if you let her down when she needs you the most, that is your fault."

"I'm letting Carol down?" Ivan said, then laughed sardonically. "You wanted to be her boyfriend. This is your mess to clean up."

Marcos shook his head. "You and Carolina have –"

"Let's get something straight. You don't get to screw her, then expect me to deal with her emotional crap. She and I are done. You two got what you wanted, so start acting like it."

Ivan pushed Marcos out of his way and stormed out of the room. It was bad enough that Ivan didn't know how to face Carol; he didn't need lessons from Marcos about how to be a martyr. One girlfriend was enough work, but playing knight in shining armor to an ex who cheated on him? He wouldn't do it. Not even for Carol.

As he walked to the cafeteria, he remembered that Carol wasn't just another ex. She was the girl he adored from age six to sixteen. He had spent last Christmas with her and her mother in the Canary Islands. She had baked them cookies, though Ivan wasn't sure if the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of Spain would recognize them as edible. Now Patricia Solis was gone. When would Noiret's list of victims end?

Ivan turned around. He was not his father. He did not leave people to suffer alone. He certainly did not abandon his friends when they needed him most. Maria would be ashamed of him. He wasn't sure how much time he had left on earth, but he wasn't going to waste the time he had on petty grievances. When Carol threw a tantrum at Marcos, Ivan was sure that she would blame him for her loss. He had kept his distance for long enough.

He entered the girls' room without knocking. Vicky was sitting with Carol on her bed, while Julia sat on her bed across from them.

"Well look who finally decided to show up," Vicky remarked bitingly. "Are you actually here to see how she's doing or just to pick up your girl for a hook up?"

"Vicky, lay off him," Julia said.

"Get out. Carol and I need to talk. Alone," said Ivan, keeping his eyes on Victoria and Carolina. She had finally stopped crying, but the destitute look on her face broke his heart. She was all alone in the world, and he had left her to fend for herself. He thought Marcos was going to be there. It wasn't the first time he had been dead wrong about something.

Carol sat up straight and nodded for the girls to leave. She hadn't showered or changed out of her pajamas in two days, so she looked like a mess. Since Julia and Vicky were the only ones who saw her, the thought hadn't crossed her mind until Ivan came in. It was as if he brought some semblance of reality back to her. As the other girls reluctantly left the room, both noticed a change in their friend.

Ivan shut the door behind them and sat down next to Carolina on her bed. He brushed her messy hair back from her face to get a better look at her. Then he hugged her tightly and sat back against the bedframe, holding her close as she leaned on him. He had done this so many times before that it came easily, but things were different now.

"I'm so sorry, Carol," Ivan said softly, with her head leaned against his shoulder. "She was a good person. She wasn't perfect, but she was a good person."

Carol almost burst into tears again. "Why? Why her? I did everything they wanted. Everything!"

Ivan stroked her hair to sooth her. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that she's gone and you didn't get to spend enough time with her. I'm sorry that my father is such a son of a bitch that he's handed us this tortured death sentence."

Carol looked up at him. "Is that why you didn't visit? You felt responsible for what your father did? Ivan, listen to me. None of this was your fault. None of it."

"I know that… but I should have known that he would have done something like this to keep us in line," said Ivan. "I've known what a sick bastard he is all my life."

"I keep thinking this is a nightmare. I want to wake up and my biggest problem to be Martin's physics test," she said. "But it just keeps getting worse. What's the point in living anymore?"

"Carol, look at me. I'm still here. And I know your mother wouldn't want you like this," Ivan said forcefully.

"We're marked for dead already. Noiret could wake up tomorrow and decide that we're over. What are we fighting for anymore?" demanded Carolina.

"Because you owe me," Ivan told her.

"What?"

"When we broke up, you said that you still cared about me. Even if we weren't together," Ivan explained. "Well, if you still care about me, you'll pull yourself together. I still need you. I need to hear you laugh. I need to hear you call me an idiot. I need you to be my friend. Therefore, you owe me."

For the first time in weeks, Carol truly smiled. "I could just hear what my mother would say if she was here."

"That I was a First Class Bastard?"

Carol nodded. "She liked you."

"Probably because I was the only person who never complained about her cooking," he laughed.

There was a pause.

"She didn't know about our split," Carol admitted. She sighed. "I was going to tell her in person this summer."

"When you brought Marcos and Paula with you to the Canary Islands?" Ivan asked pointedly.

Carol shifted uneasily. "Don't mention him. He's dead as far as I'm concerned."

"Fine. But if you get out of bed, we can get ice cream from the kitchen and you can tell me what an idiot he is," Ivan offered in spite of himself. "And how losing me was the dumbest mistake of your life."

He got off the bed and stood in front of her. She stayed sitting down.

"Or we can talk about your mother. None of the others knew her like I did. She was the closest thing I had to a mother once," Ivan went on.

She simply stared at him, absorbing what he was saying. He stretched out a hand to help her up.

"You would've helped me see her one last time, wouldn't you?" asked Carol. "Hell, you probably would have stolen your father's car to get me there. Both of us there."

Ivan drew in a deep breath and lowered his hand. Part of his should have known this was coming. There was a myriad of reasons that he hadn't visited Carol. He had felt guilty about his father destroying their lives. Another reason was that they were no longer the friends that they once were since their break-up. She had crushed him that night, and the next morning couldn't contain her excitement to tell Marcos. When Ivan contemplated breaking up, it was Carol that stopped him. She had played him by telling him that Marcos meant nothing to her. He wouldn't forgive that easily.

"You're always there for me," Carol said, as she got off the bed. "I broke up with you, but you're still here for me. I'm such an idiot."

"Carol, we're over. It's what you wanted," Ivan declared. "We can't go back."

As she stood face to face with him, she realized the weight of his words. For a moment, she had wanted to go back in time to that day in December, when they planned not to return to Laguna Negra after Christmas break. It was a simpler time then. If she had left back then, her mother would probably still be alive, and she and Ivan would be together at another school.

Carol felt like an incredible idiot for staying to help Marcos. What had he done for her? He had chosen Ivan and Amelia over her so many times. He had called her a liar and overdramatic. Then he stopped her from seeing her mother. She would never forgive him. He was the cause of all her suffering. She couldn't look at him. If Ivan hadn't moved on to Julia, they would have gotten back together eventually. He was one of her best friends, and wasn't that enough?

"Of course. I just didn't realize how much I missed talking to you," Carol said, hugging him tightly. "We haven't really talked in a long time. We shouldn't let that happen again."

"Good," he said, hugging her back. "Now let's get you into a shower and some new clothes. You smell like something Gustavo dragged in."

Carol sighed and shook her head. "Only if you promise to have that ice cream waiting for me when I'm done."

"Strawberry flavor?" Ivan asked.

Carol grinned. "And a spoonful of chocolate from your cup."

"Deal. Just like last Christmas Eve when your mom let us have ice cream for dinner while watching movies. It was the last time I felt at home."

"Me too."

Ivan hugged her again. "When we get out of here, the first thing we should do is go to Italy for gelato. I'll put everything on my dad's credit card. We'll spend a week eating ourselves sick of ice cream."

"I'll look forward to that…" Carol replied. "Someday, we'll have ice cream in Italy together far away from here."

* * *

 **A/N:** I wrote this fic because there were so many events that took place in the summer that would have made great episodes. I thought it would be a fun play on the fact that every time Carol needed Marcos, he flaked or sent Ivan to fix it. Carol and Ivan had virtually stopped speaking to each other after their split, except when she told him to clean up his act and treat Julia better in Season 6. They were very close and broke up in such a dramatic way that I wanted to explore how they became friends again. Also, the title "Death and Ice Cream" refers to Carol only seeing death in her future at the start of the fic, and the ice cream refers to an image she can hang her hopes of the future on.


End file.
